The field of the invention is methods and devices for detecting and suppressing epileptogenic states and/or reversing such epileptic circuits once formed.
The primary functions of the brain are to transmit, process, and store information about the body and the environment. Higher order functions such as problem solving and adaptation also exist in some animals and these functions may be loosely referred to as components of the learning process. The plasticity of neurons and connections between neurons is central to these capabilities. However, plasticity is also central to epileptogenesis and prior art methods for identifying or treating epilepsy cannot explain why plasticity plays a role in both learning and epileptogenesis. There are an enormous number of ways in which plasticity can go wrong at all levels of description, particularly at the genetic level, where the process of epileptogenesis is bewilderingly complex with many contributory factors. Indeed, so intricately is normal brain function dependent on the proper mix of receptors, channels, chemical environment, and other factors that it can be surprising that epilepsy is not more prevalent.
Current approaches for treating epilepsy using electrical stimulation, such as vagal nerve, cortical and deep brain stimulation, are empirical. It is unclear how these methods work and optimizing treatment generally involves trying different stimulation protocols and determining by observation over time which works better. Because people respond differently to any given protocol, it is typically not possible to design an optimal protocol for any single individual or condition other than by trial and error. In addition, current approaches target neuronal hyperexcitability caused by imbalances between excitatory and inhibitory influences at synapses, but do not consider other patterns of neural activity that may have a significant effect on epileptogenesis, for example, patterns occurring between large groups of neurons. It is believed that this limits the effectiveness of current methods for treating epileptogenesis.
It would therefore be desirable to have a method for identifying, suppressing, and reversing epilepsy that account for factors other than neuronal hyperexcitability, particularly those related to brain plasticity.